We have updated our Terms & Conditions. To continue, please confirm that you have read and accept these:

You have to agree to pocketmags.com's Terms & Conditions to proceed

This website use cookies and similar technologies to improve the site and to provide customised content and advertising. By using this site, you agree to this use. To learn more, including how to change your cookie settings, please view our Cookie Policy

There’s nowt so queer as art

CLARE BARLOW, CURATOR OF QUEER BRITISH ART 1861- 1967, TELLS CARRIE LYELL WHY THIS LANDMARK EXHIBITION MEANS SO MUCH TO HER

In April this year the first exhibition dedicated to queer British art opened at Tate Britain in London.

Three years in the making, the exhibition paints a colourful and complicated picture of sexual orientation and gender identity leading up to 1967’s partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales. DIVA’s Carrie Lyell went down to Tate Britain to meet exhibition curator Clare Barlow and find out why this particular show is so important to her.

DIVA: Some of our readers might be surprised to discover that this is the first major exhibition dedicated to queer British art. Why do you think that is?

CLARE BARLOW: We were quite surprised when we started researching that there hadn’t been a show of its kind before. I’m the first person who gets to tell this story, which is exciting, but there are also moments of terror [laughs]. And that’s right. It should feel like a privilege to be doing this and it does. It’s a good moment to be doing something like this, because marking 50 years [since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales] feels like the right opportunity to look back at our history and where we’ve come from, to think about where we are, and then to look forward as to what we might want to do next.

“What’s exciting about the show is it shows that even in times of oppression we have been happy”

About DIVA Magazine

As the UK prepares to go the polls in June, our timely front cover is Mhairi Black. The 22-year-old SNP MP has won legions of fans from across the political spectrum since being elected in 2015 thanks to her principled stance on issues affecting the most vulnerable in our communities. In an exclusive interview with publisher Linda Riley, Black talks about her biggest challenges in parliament so far, and why she doesn’t want to be Nicola Sturgeon.
Also in this issue…
Rose and Rosie: Exposed
Sleeping with the enemy: Can a relationship survive political differences?
Denise Welch: “We need to come out about depression”
Game Of Thrones star Ellie Kendrick talks to Roxy Bourdillon about her new film
A woman’s place is in the House: Carrie Lyell on women in parliament and the progress over the last 100 years
Why are so many straight authors writing about same-sex love?
Church for atheists: Vicky Beeching experiences a “godless church” for the first time
“It’s not just banter”: Tackling homophobia in football
Our family and autism
PLUS: Travel, art, community and more!